Data + strategy = growth. At this time of year the team at Kerrwil is in the final stages of producing its annual research and benchmarking study. Data is flying everywhere around our office and the discipline to have it focused, organized and guarded above all else keeps us pretty consumed.

But what also happens at this time of year are calls from distributors and manufacturers alike asking for information, for help in segmenting their clients, and for deeper understanding of brand preferences and perceptions from the numerous segments of electrical buyers and specifiers.

The need for more detail and more currency is greater this year than ever. The changing and challenging market, new product innovations and the shifts in the channel driven by lighting technologies for the most part are some of the drivers for this.

The insight we gain here too can guide and support our editorial teams and we hope guide the industry.

The need for benchmarking has never been greater, and that’s why we launched our study so many years ago. That said, never did we think at the time we did this we would be at the centre of these numerous requests and involved in providing insight, information and additional research to the electrical market.

While the focus is on market data specifically (share, size), we are increasingly being asked what lines are being sold by whom, can you identify for us, what additional channels are in our markets or serving our end users, have you heard this specific new supplier is selling direct? Can you segment the market mix and product mix to help us identify where we need to have focus?

Perhaps this time of year is in fact busy as budgets, planning and looking forward to next year begins.

Have you recently analyzed where you look at and who you are selling to versus who is there? Do you have a handle on how your competitors are doing and how the lines and suppliers they represent are evolving with new products and customers? Can you quantify the trading area you are in, and have you been honest enough to in fact define that trading area?

One trend we see in our recent discussions for the first time in a long time is a return to basics in marketing. Companies are looking beyond the tools of a broad-based unqualified reach to focus, be tactical and measure against a real benchmark. Caught in that cross fire, it appears, is the debate on the real value of social media and its cost versus real immediate return on a more direct approach.

Today with the amount of data out there, the technology to manage it and the need to bring it all in play, manufacturers and distributors alike are looking for the edge and realizing that finally it’s good marketing and promotion practices that need the investment. The need to drive populate and comply with CRM platforms is a factor as well.

Here’s a sampling of what others are asking for and what they are looking at.

What is the market size and total available market for my branch and/or product?

What end-users are present in my market and how big of a potential target am I missing?

Who else is selling electrical equipment and to whom?

How do I really understand my metrics on the web?

Lead generation data — where to get company specific data that can be levered and quantified?

How many electrical contractors are there in my market and if they are not buying from our company where are they going?

For us the biggest take-away is the single fact that the majority of distributors in this country are overspending on who they know without understanding the true potential, and underspending on who they don’t know. Many have invested heavily in ecommerce with no plan to promote it beyond their core clients.

The market is as dynamic and fluid as it ever has been, with more competitors, ever increasing complex new products that require more support, and a changing end user who researches and reacts quickly and who may gradually look at other ways to obtain products and solutions.

Solid market data and real benchmarking tools may be something that should be at the forefront and perhaps that’s why the phone continues to ring. The demand too will grow as manufacturers will demand more data and want to know more about their customers, how they buy, and where, what they want, and how to build a relationship and preference.

John W. Kerr is Publisher of CEW and Principal of Kerrwil Publishing Ltd.

As a marketing consultant, writer, and trainer, I recognized the challenges and barriers that David was writing about. We agree on many issues (and their causes) facing electrical distributors and marketers. But I also hear from marketing people all the time that the C-Suite is hindering their efforts which, in turn, hinders the company’s growth.

On October 29-31, 2018, the AD Electrical North American Meeting drew over 1,000 attendees. This event attracted 151 first time attendees and representatives from over 362 companies in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Attendees benefited from a variety of agenda topics, including: Network Meetings, Emerging Leaders Session, and Country-specific Business Meetings. New to this year’s agenda was a SPA Optimization Workshop led by industry veteran Mo Barsema. In addition, members and suppliers also attended a panel discussion on managing and measuring your digital success.

People with low levels of coping skills are at higher risk for mental health issues and mental illness than those with high levels. Gaps in coping skills inhibit the ability to solve problems and to make healthy and effective decisions.

To examine how coping skills can predict health outcomes, Dr. Bill Howatt facilitated a doctoral research study that examined the question: “What role does an individual’s coping skills have in predicting psychological and physical health outcomes?” The study found that coping skills mattered and were, in fact, a moderator that partially explains why some individuals had better physical and psychological health outcomes than others. The study concluded that when combining a person’s coping skills with their perceived stress levels, coping skills were significant in predicting which employees were at more or less risk for health issues.

Electro-Federation Canada (EFC)’s Marketing Awards program recognizes member organizations that demonstrate marketing excellence and innovation within the Canadian electrical manufacturing and distribution industry. Winners of this year’s awards were recognized at EFC’s 8th Annual Future Forum, held earlier this month. (Shown in photo: EFC President and CEO Carole McGlogan with representatives from Bartle & Gibson, winners of the Integrated Marketing Award — distributor under $50 million.)Electro-Federation Canada (EFC)’s Marketing Awards program recognizes member organizations that demonstrate marketing excellence...

Leaders and innovators from business, government and the education sector gathered for this ABB premier collaboration event. More than 11,000 delegates attended the bi-annual ABB Customer World Houston 2019 from March 4 to 7 in Houston, Texas. ABB’s latest pioneering technologies were displayed over 150,000 sq ft of a colourful, buzzy display of futuristic conveyor belts and robots, an ABB Formula E Generation 2 car, and much more groundbreaking technology. ACW attendees also took part in keynote sessions and seminars focused on realizing the tremendous productivity and performance improvements that digitalization delivers for companies of any size and from any industry.

In his keynote address at the event, ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer explained how ABB was shaping its business for leadership in digital industries to support its customers in a time of unprecedented technological change and digitalization. He was joined by Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Antonio Neri.

Cree, Inc. has signed an agreement to sell its Lighting Products business unit, which includes the LED lighting fixtures, lamps and corporate lighting solutions business for commercial, industrial and consumer applications, to Ideal Industries, Inc. for approximately US$310 million before tax impacts, including up-front and contingent consideration and the assumption of certain liabilities. Cree expects to receive an initial cash payment of US$225 million, subject to purchase price adjustments, and has the potential to receive a targeted earn-out payment of approximately US$85 million based on an adjusted EBITDA metric for Cree Lighting over a 12-month period beginning two years after the transaction closes.

The agreement continues Cree’s strategy, announced in February 2018, to create a more focused, powerhouse semiconductor company, providing growth capital for Wolfspeed, its core Power and RF business, and equips Cree with additional resources to expand its semiconductor operations. The deal also enables Cree Lighting to gain additional global focus, channel support and investment as it becomes a growth engine for the IDEAL team.

On a regular basis, our publications profile members of our industry through their responses to a Q&A. It’s a way of recognizing industry movers and shakers, and helping our readers get to know them better.

Recently we launched an initiative with Electro-Federation Canada's Young Professionals Network to include profiles of up-and-coming leaders. We provided the list of questions below to Taylor Gerrie, Automation Account Specialist at Gerrie Electric Wholesale Ltd. in Burlington, Ontario. Here are Taylor’s responses.

First and foremost, sitting down with Susan Uthayakumar feels more like sitting down and conversing with a friend than conducting an interview with the Canadian president of one of the world’s largest electrical manufacturers. Of course, she exudes the confidence and knowledge her position demands, but equally identifiable are an open and engaging nature.

In a recent sit-down, we learned a little about Susan’s history and what drives her to succeed.

To begin, Susan was born in Sri Lanka and immigrated to Canada at a young age. She went to high school in Canada and attended the University of Waterloo where she earned undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Upon completing university Susan began her working career with Deloitte, which she describes as a great starting point as she was surrounded by highly driven and intelligent individuals. She welcomed being in a position that was demanding and helped nurture a strong work ethic. Her work with Deloitte also instilled a great interest in acquisitions, which would serve her well as her career unfolded.

We often learn how to look forward by first looking back, or at the very least we realize that despite our best efforts we have not truly advanced quite so much as we had thought. Sure, technology is rapidly advancing. That’s beyond question. But what about our approach to selling it? Have we changed that much in the last 20, 40, 60 years? Inevitably there have been advances and changes in marketing, the Internet causing the biggest shift, but many of the concerns and directives that have driven the distribution and marketing of industrial electrical products remain, or at least planted the roots of the concerns of manufacturers and distributors today.

To gain perspective of the perceptions and directions of electrical product distribution in 1960, we turn to Edwin H. Lewis. In 1960 Lewis published “The Distribution of Industrial Electrical Products” in the Journal of Marketing.

To fully define electrical product distribution in 1960, Lewis broke his study into several categories. We will follow his direction and provide his insights on the industry in each of the categories he identified.

The best memory I keep from CEDA is the way that they accepted me when I came into the business. The welcome they gave to me, all of them men. (In those days there were not many women in business.) This welcome I will always remember. CEDA has played a very important role in my success.

One year our conference was in Hamilton, Ontario. Mr. Caouillette, our speaker, got lost and instead of going to Hamilton went to Toronto. I think that that was the longest cocktail hour that CEDA ever had… waiting for him to arrive. Certainly that night the head table and everyone were in good spirits.

Looking BackIn the 1930s to 1940s, CEDA’s Western Canada membership was very stable with old line independent companies like Horsman, Ashdowns, Brettell, Marshall Wells, Electrical Supplies Ltd., etc.

Small electrical distributors just were not acceptable for membership as they did not carry the main-line manufacturers’ goods, publish a wiring device catalogue, or employ four to five salesmen as CEDA requested.

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